The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-06-04
Our Spare Room.

For some time after we were mar ried we lived at Finchlcy.
 Finchley is not particularly inter- esting place in itself. It is not town; neither by the utmost stretch of imagination could it be called coun- try. It is exceedingly difficult to get to the city-where I go every day from there: or to get anywhere else, for the matter of that. But 1 think our chief reason for going to live there was that we had the chance of taking house that had been built by friend of mine for his own occupa- tion, who found after it was finished that he would have to live abroad for two or three years. Houses that peo- pie build for themselves are always so much nicer than those they build for other people. So we at once decided to take it, and ever since have been trying to get away from it.
 We both wanted to live in town, in London proper. wanted my club handy, and Margaret wanted the bon net shops Choosing a new house is a weighty and important matter, and we braced our minds beforehand by many conversations on the subject, and at last began seriously to house hunt.
 We looked at a good many "desira- ble residences" in the regions of South Kensington and Bayswater. and saw few that we liked pretty well, and a large number that we did not like at all. A good many of the houses had just been newly and smartly done up for the season-it was the month of February when we began our search with an evident view of attracting the public. But although they were magnificent with paint, paper. white wash and Jacobean mantelpieces. we frequently found that they were de- ticient in the less apparent details of drainage, cisterns and boilers. with which unimportant tritles the land- lord had evidently considered it not worth while to busy himself.
 Some houses, on the other hand, were not ''done up" in any way, but were dark, dirty and cobwebby, and haunted by cadaverous care takers. It was useless to try and investigate any of this species, as Margaret refused to go any further than the drawing room floor, and would not entertain the idea of them for single instant. First impressions are everything" she would remark emphatically when tried to convince her that painting and papering were not yet lost arts, and that the care-taker would not. of necessity, form part of our establish ment.
 Our house. hunting was, therefore, a long business, and we made quite a picnic of it, Margaret declared, for we frequently retired to contectioner's for afternoon tea, instead of going back to Finchley for that meal. which was always great point with Mar garet. She would not have thought the day complete without it. So, as the afternoons at the end of February are long and light, we frequently walked about looking at houses til nearly six o'clock.
 One evening as we were sitting to- gether in my smoking room after din- nea talking, as we usually did, about our prospective new house, Margaret seemed suddenly to be struck with an idea.
 "Charley," she said, leaning forward in her chair and placing her pretty little forefinger on her pointed chin as she spoke, 'sthere is one thing that our new house must not have, and that thing is spare room."